Under My Skin
by nappmaster
Summary: When it comes to making amends with old friends, Oliver Queen usually succeeds. Except once, with a specific fiery blonde woman named Annie Stone. No matter how much she tries to avoid him, it seems that she keeps getting herself tangled into the mess the 'vigilante' has created, having to many times to count of her being in danger. Starts after 1X9 'Year's End' Eventual Oliver/OC
1. Chapter 1

_Hey guys! Whoo-hoo first fanfiction for this account! I had another one, but i deleted it a while back and made a new one! Anyway, so this is my Oliver/Oc story, and i truly hope you all enjoy it!_

_Big thanks to my Beta, Dannylionthe1st, for without her, I would not have had the motivation to continue on with publishing this story! So thank you, Danny, and sorry this is late!_

**_Disclaimer:_**_ I dont own Arrow or the characters that belong to it. I only own the characters i made up, and my plot tweaks in order for my story to fit with the plotline._

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Her green eyes watched as the bored looking students filed out of the classroom while the obnoxious bell continue to ring throughout the school. Annie felt terrible for the fact that they didn't leave the classroom feeling excited to return to a fun environment tomorrow, and it's all because they had a teacher who could honestly care less about them and the class she was teaching. Sighing, the young student teacher flickered her gaze to the older woman who was bent over one of the desks, the pen placed in her hand scribbling furiously on the paper. "It's unbelievable that I give these kids so much time to finish their assignments, and yet a fourth of them still don't do it! And also tha-" Mrs. Greta Schroeder, the woman who was aiding Annie through her student teaching, continued on while the young woman tuned her out, obviously distracted with how the class went today.

When the elderly woman's tone raised, Annie quickly brought herself out of her rambling thoughts to listen to woman, "-and please, for gosh sake, finish up the Legislative Branch Evaluation papers. If the kids were not going to turn in their papers on time, then it's too late for them it in now!" Schroeder huffed to her student teacher, Annie Stone, before she started to leave the room. "I'll be in the teacher's lounge if you need me." And then she was gone.

The young woman nodded her head in response, as she searched for the stack of papers in the heaping pile of assignments the students hadturned in. Frazzled and exhausted, she leapt from the office chair she was previously planted in for five straight hours, only to get up to stretch her legs. Annie picked up the unorganized piles of papers, her green eyes wide and her mind frantic to find those specific papers. She was determined to find those papers. That's the thing about Annie, even though she can be ditzy at times with remembering things, and constantly unorganized, her motivation, determination and hard work impressed the staff.

What felt like days, but only was a few minutes, she finally discovered the papers. Those damn things were shoved way, way in the back of Mrs. Schroeder's period 5 filing cabinet. She began to sort through them, alphabetizing them before grading each one. The evaluations were easy to grade, considering that it was only worth twenty points. All she had to do was read what the student answered, correct any errors and then give them the points she thought they deserved. Unfortunately, she felt completely drained of energy. Her eyes barely managed to stay open, forcing her to fidget and blink rapidly as she tried to focus. She was tired because of spending the whole night before grading essays about the Articles of Confederation and the flaws with 's the one thing that bugged Annie most about working with Schroeder, the damn woman made her grade all of the assignments and tests.

Annie was in the middle of grading the last paper when a knock came from the door . "Come in!" She shouted out, not even bothering to turn around and face the guest.

She could hear the stranger enter into the classroom with cautious steps. "Uh…is Mrs. Schroeder here?" A deep voice rang out. Annie shook her head, focusing on her papers instead of the person, who was probably a parent. Parents never came to the school to talk to the teachers. Although she normally didn't mind talking to them about their student after hours, her mind refused to let her think of anything else, but the papers.

"No, I'm sorry. She left about an hour ago. Which is also another thing, it's well past an hour and a half since school got out, why are you he-" While she was rambling, she started to twist around to face the parent, only to find out that the parent wasn't actually a parent, but instead a familiar young man.

Annie's eyes nearly bulged out of her head the moment she caught sight of Oliver Queen. Her heart fluttered at the sight of him, reminding her of the old feelings she used to have. Back when he had meant a lot to her.

"Annie Stone." He spoke softly, her name sounding so rich as it rolled off his tongue.

"Ollie." She muttered her reply. And that's when the numbness faded, and her anger came bursting out. Her small, pink lips formed a hard line as she narrowed her eyes upon him. "I heard you came back from the dead." She paused for a moment, hesitating to say the next thing that came to her mind. "I still wish everyday since I heard you returned that it had been Sarah instead of you." The hostility in her tone sounded wrong for her to use, especially directed towards Oliver. She never knew in a million years that she could be so hurtful and vile to him. But he had been responsible for her best friend's death. It was the only reaction she could muster after everything.

He ducked his head, as he leaned against his cane for support. Annie felt a slight pang of remorse, but her pride kept her fury going. She had to prove to him that she was still angry at him.

"I know," he whispered in a defeated tone. "I'm so sorry, Annie. I-"

"Save it." She interrupted in an icy tone. There was a long pause between the two, as they held each other's gaze, unspoken words shared between the two of them. Finally, Annie broke the silence. "Why are you here, Oliver? I mean, why do you need to see Schroeder?"

He shrugged in response, his cobalt blue eyes observing the room. "I just wanted to come down and visit some teachers. Turns out most of them either retired or had already left for the day." He paused. "I lost track of time. Original plan was to pick up Thea, but by the time I got finished talking to some contractors helping with my club,she was gone. Figured I'd see Mrs. Schroeder before I left." Annie couldn't help but give a slight snort. Oliver in return chuckled at his own embarrassment. Evidently, he had forgotten what it was like to be a teenager. They never stayed on school grounds longer than they had to.

They shared yet another moment of silence, except this time the tension in the air eased a little, but only for a second or so before Annie started up again.

"You know, she and I had a falling out in our friendship before the wreckage. Sarah and I." Oliver's intense gazed shifted to her face, and she felt the need to keep talking. "She started getting jealous because she thought that we were too close of friends. That's how insanely in-love she was with you. I lost my best friend because of you…and then I lost you." She trailed at the end of her sentence, letting her words sink in for him.

"Annie…" His voice cracked slightly. She pinched her eyes shut, trying so hard to fight back tears, and forget memories that managed to flow through her mind.

Oliver felt grief wash over him at that moment, but he couldn't find any words to say. Instead he just took in her appearance. She wasn't the same eighteen year old he last saw five years ago. He could see how her face had aged. Her figure had more weight to it, making it curvier. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a click, with a few loose strands sticking out, only adding to her teacher-like appearance. She wore a pretty, pale blue, billowy blouse with black slacks that hugged her thighs and tan pumps.

Just then, Mrs. Schroeder returned to the classroom, Diet Coke clasped in one hand, a tupperware of food in the other. She glanced between her student teacher and former student, a fake plastered smile creasing onto her lips.

"I think-" Annie began, her voice bringing Oliver out of his stare. "I think I should go." She had stacks of papers in one hand, and a large hand bag in the other. Jammed behind her ear was a pen, and another one sticking out of her clip. She looked bewildered and exasperated.

The blonde woman pushed past the Oliver and Schroeder, before exiting the classroom.

'Well that went wonderfully' she sarcastically thought to herself while heading out to her car. She admitted to herself that she felt terrible with how she treated Oliver, knowing that being angry with someone was not like her, especially someone who she cares about. Well, cared about. She really did wish that she had apologized for her remark, but it had to be said.

She felt her phone buzzing in her back pocket, and she pulled it out to find a text from her step-sister, Blake.

'_Hangin' with friends. Will be late for din. Let dad knw.' _Annie rolled her eyes at the message. When is that girl not running late?

She climbed into her car, placing the papers on her passenger seat. As she started her car, she noticed Oliver walking out towards the parking lot. She quickly turned her attention elsewhere as she pulled out from the lot, leaving the school and him behind her as she drove off.

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_Wow! So there it is, and I really hope you guys liked the story! _


	2. Chapter 2

_So, here it is, Chapter two. So for some reason, I wanted to introduce Annie's relationship with her Step-dad because he is going to become an important character in this story, and also because I wanted to begin introducing her background. So here is a filler. The real action will happen probably next chapter, so get ready for some quirky Aniver!_

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The silence in the air was nearly unbearable, and Annie felt like she had to get out of the room before she would do something she knew she would regret. That's how dinner usually felt with her father and sister. Well, except when her younger step-sister decided to ditch out on dinner for the third night in a row, and leave Annie alone with her step-dad.

Now, don't get her wrong, she loved her step-dad more than anything in the world. He was the one to take in her and her mother, to care for them, give them a roof over their head, put food on the table, treat them as his own family. And that's exactly the man Annie had wished her real father to be.

Her mother fell head over heals for Jim Brennan when Annie was thirteen, and had just moved to Starling City with her mother. He was a manger for Starling City's BMW car dealership, but surprisingly, Annie's mother, Katherine, didn't love him for his money, like other women would have. Oh no, she loved him for his personality, always being the woman to find the good in people. It took only eight months before Jim popped the question on Katherine's birthday, where they had dinner at some five star restaurant, while Annie stayed home to watch over Blake.

When Annie and Katherine first moved in with Jim and Blake, she had no idea of what was to come. Would he be an over controlling father, who might abuse his children when he was drunk, or would he be a laid back man who didn't care about anything but his new wife and job? And for the eight year old blonde haired girl; would she be a crying spoiled brat, or would she always lock herself in her bedroom and play barbies by herself because she was an only child and that's how she always acted?

Turns out, they seemed to be the picture perfect family Annie had constantly dreamed about, where the father would come home tuckered out at night from a long day at work, but would still kiss his wife on the cheek while she cooked, and played with his daughters until dinner was ready. And as for Blake, she followed around Annie like a lost puppy desperately wanting an owner, and the thirteen year old kind of liked the attention. Blake kept her distance, never intruded on her older step-sister's personal life, and was mature for her age. All things the older blonde wanted for a sister.

But three years later, her mother discovered an odd lump on her thigh. Dreading for the worst, they discovered she indeed had Osteosarcoma. The doctors estimated that she had this tumor for a while, and that it had advanced to far for them to easily remove it. They had given the option of amputating of her leg, but upon more CT, PET scans and MRIs, they discovered there was another tumor in her hip.

The newly formed family was devastated, and there really wasn't many options left for them choose from. Surgery to remove the tumors were a slim to no chance of succeeding, and chemotherapy would only hold her out for so long, but they knew that she wouldn't survive in the end. Katherine chose to do chemotherapy, knowing she wasn't ready to leave her new family just yet.

This time was especially hard for Annie, upon discovering, she found herself distancing herself from Jim and Blake. She formed a stronger bond with her mother, yet every time she looked upon her pale face, her beautiful green eyes having deep purple rings underneath them as well as they were sunken in a little, her body had transformed into just skin and bones, and it broke Annie's heart to see her mother like this.

She started to behave oddly. Leaving randomly during the day, and not return until hours into the night. Jim didn't bother to ask where she was, for he was more concerned about Katherine and the hospital bills he was paying for. Eventually, Annie would arrive home around ten to find a bottle of Jack and a glass place in front of him while his reading glasses were perched at the end of his nose, his squinting eyes roaming over the pages upon pages of paperwork from either the dealership or Starling General.

Blake was afraid of talking to her sister, scared that the older blonde might snap at her, or give her tantalizing glares that caused shivers to run down her spine like she usually would. All she ever cared about was to not lose yet another mother. It was bad enough her first mom died in a car crash, she didn't want her other one to leave as well.

On a chilling night in February, Jim received a call from the hospital around four in the morning informing him that Katherine's recent round of chemo put her through extreme pain, and that she was coughing up blood, which made it hard for her to breathe. They told him that there wasn't much else they could do but let it happen. The first thing he did was rush out of his bed to tell his step-daughter, only to discover that she wasn't in her bedroom.

In a state of high rising anxiety, he rushed down to the hospital with a sleeping Blake in the backseat, afraid of where his other daughter was, and what was going to happen to his wife. Once they arrived, they rushed in lightning speed to Katherine's hospital room, to where he was met with blurry green eyes, a rat's nest of blonde hair, and a shivering Annie. Her back was against the wall, her face in her hands, her elbows propped up on her knees.

It was a terrifying image. To see a seventeen year old girl, all broken down and withering right before his eyes. Sobs raked through her body, but her crying was silent. Her shoulders shook with such ferocity, and Jim couldn't find the strength to stand anymore. He placed himself beside his step-daughter, pulled her into his arms, and ran a hand through her snarled hair.

She just witnessed her mother die.

So yes, the air seemed tense and eerie when Jim and Annie were alone with each other after Katherine's death. They lost what ever relationship they had during that rough year of watching his wife and her mother die slowly and painfully.

And while they both tried so hard to rekindle whatever father-daughter flame they had, it never seemed to work. Jim fell into depression, and he began drinking heavily. Annie, on the other hand, formed a severe case of anxiety, having treacherous panic attacks and sometimes psychogenic non-epileptic seizures.

Eventually, Jim and Annie gradually got better. He focusing all of his attention to work and his daughters, her channeling her anxiety by plunging herself deeply into her education, determined to graduate and move onto college, to become what her mother always wanted to be, a teacher.

The clanking of a fork hitting a plate brought Annie from her deep thoughts. Jim noticed her startled face, and cleared his throat a little. Her perpetuating green eyes laid upon him, taking in his tired expression, his slumped shoulders, and bent over stance. He was exhausted, and she knew he shouldn't continue to waste his energy by sitting through this unwanted dinner. Standing up, she made her way over to the end of the cherry wood dinning table, and collected his empty plate, along with her's. He watched her with confusion, and all she did was lean down, kiss the top of his head, and whisper softly, "you need to get some sleep."

He swallowed, before giving a heaping sigh and bobbing his head slowly. She entered the kitchen, placing the plates and silverware into the dishwasher. She began to package all of the leftovers and put them into the fridge before she heard her name softly being called.

Twisting around to face Jim, she found him leaning against the doorway, arms crossed, drooping eyes attempting to focus on her. There was beat of silence between the two, and even though no words were spoken, they shared so much through just eye contact. "Thank you." It was only two words, but it meant a whole lot more than that. She returned him a sweet smile, and nodded.

So, maybe that's the relationship they had. The power to express everything they had bottled up for so long through pure body language. And it was the best thing she could ever ask for from him.

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_And there it is! I do apologize for such a short chapter, I've been hitting a writer's block, which explains the long wait for an update! Well hoped you like it! _

_P.S. I decided to give each person a face claim, so if you dont know who these people are, time to IMDB them._

_Annie- Katrina Bowden_

_Katherine- Anna Gunn_

_Jim- Linden Ashby_

_Blake- Melissa Roxburgh(who is already been in Arrow twice)_


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